Must See 1D MKIV Video by Vincent Laforet

Canon 1D MKIV 1080p video shot at 6400 ASA with all available light and it ROCKS.

SWEET!

All natural light, very high (by my standards) ISO, 1080p video that looks flipping good. You should all begin to worry now because videographers will be using these at wedding receptions everywhere. There are few video cameras that can compare to that level of low light yummy goodness.

Does it look to small to judge on your monitor, if so watch the video in full 1080p on Smugmug. But note:

The 1080p footage on SmugMug is pretty incredible – but remember that a 365 MB compressed file was initially uploaded and then re-compressed a second time – from a 2.32 GB original uncompressed file. You can expect that the blacks will be a bit clamped, and that there will be a loss in sharpness relative to the original. -Vincent

Vincent gives up some interesting details on his blog (it might be slammed with traffic at the moment so be patient). I found his approach to testing the camera’s low light capability very noteworthy.

Here is the main point that I hope you take into account: the short film you are about to watch was shot in pretty much the very worst light that I could possibly find in an evening urban landscape. I did not chose “pretty lighting” in a mall or under neon signs. That would have been cheating in my book.

The short was shot near East 6th and Mateo St. in Los Angeles – in an industrial part of the city. If you live in the area – go check out the area – you won’t believe the video you see below came from the poor lighting in that area. Sodium and mercury vapor lights. That’s it. Really awful lighting.

Not a single external light source was used / added. In other words I did not use a single flashlight, LightPanel, flood light – nothing. For one shot only I pulled out a silver reflector… just to say we did it really. And yes it worked (see the shot of the young girl.)

The ISO stayed locked in the 6400 ASA range – with a very few shots hovering 1 stop above and one or two set to 3200 ASA because we had TOO MUCH depth of field…(on the bridge.) At one point I found myself shooting at 12,800 ASA by mistake – and I didn’t even notice any noise on the rear LCD in the skies… 6400 ASA is the new 1600 ASA – maybe even the new 800 ASA. Stop to ponder that for a second - and what it can mean to the way you approach your craft.

And there you have it. A pretty flipping amazing piece of gear with a decent enough price given its capabilities. Suggested Retail – $4999.00